temperatures for the ease with temperatures around a this is bbc news. the headlines at six. the government calls for a reset in relations with the eu — following a row over the supply of vaccines and the now—abandoned attempt to override part of the brexit agreement. i think the european union recognise they made a mistake in triggering article 16, which would have meant the reimposition of a border on the island of ireland. we we re we were told that under no circumstances could the european commission countenance a border between _ commission countenance a border between northern ireland and the republic— between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, but yet, 29 days _ republic of ireland, but yet, 29 days into — republic of ireland, but yet, 29 days into the protocol, they are quite _ days into the protocol, they are quite happy to invoke it, whether it is in their— quite happy to invoke it, whether it is in their interest and the interest— is in their interest and the interest of the european bloc. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's in awe of the way they're coping with home schooling.

confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards — midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused. five men have been arrested following a disturbance at a former military barracks in kent, being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers. a four—year—old girl has discovered a rare dinosaur footprint on a beach in south wales. well, we just literally were walking along the beach doing the usual thing, looking for shells, and what have you, and lily said, daddy, look at this, and there it was. and newcastle united pick up their first premier league points of 2021, after winning 2—0 at everton. that and the rest of the day's sport in sportsday at 6.30.

good evening. the government says the european commission recognises it made a mistake threatening to impose controls on the export of coronavirus vaccines from the eu into northern ireland. it was a decision that could have seen checks on its border with the republic of ireland. the move — which was reversed late last night — came amidst a deepening row over vaccines supplies. the first minister of northern ireland accused brussels of an "incredible act of hostility". michael gove insists the uk will work with the eu to address issues — and that the uk's vaccine programme is still on track. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. the great hope for so many of us. vaccines could be a way out of the coronavirus crisis. this wasjoanna, a nurse, becoming the first person jabbed in northern ireland last month. ministers think the uk roll—out is going well,

but in europe there is frustration and delays, prompting brussels to introduce controls on vaccines leaving the eu. the plan, though, would have meant controls here, the border between ireland and northern ireland. that's despite the brexit deal being designed to keep goods flowing. there was a furious response last night, which led to europe changing its mind adn saying the proposal had been an error. i think the european union recognise now that they made a mistake yesterday. the commission made a mistake. they didn't consult us, they didn't consult ourfriends in dublin, and they united parties in northern ireland, from sinn fein on one side to the dup on the other in condemnation, and people in northern ireland were bewildered by the stack. last night's routed something rare, uniting different sides of the political divide in the uk in opposition to brussels. ministers here are pleased that an immediate crisis has been avoided, but they faced calls from some to use the emergency powers themselves to protect trade between northern ireland

and the rest of the uk. we were told that under no circumstances could the european commission countenance a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, but, yet, 29 days into the protocol, they are quite happy to invoke it when it's in their interest. i do fear that it has caused some political damage, and it's given the brexiteers an opportunity to use it to their own advantage, and i think that's very unfortunate given the fact that there was a lot of attention and effort and dedication put into protecting the all—ireland economy. avoiding a hard border in ireland was one of the hardest tasks of the brexit negotiation, and that's why some here are so frustrated that europe seems to have been willing to use its emergency powers so quickly, and although it's now changed its mind, there are questions over what this will do to trust between brussels and london, whether something similar could happen again.

some are calling for a more conciliatory approach. we must do everything that we can, everything that we have in our power to find a solution, and any kind of vaccine nationalism, i think, is simply wrong. the european commission are still imposing some controls as it tries to speed up its vaccine programme, but, for now, a major row has been averted. our brussels correspondent kevin connolly explained the significance of the last 2a hours — and how eu vaccine could affect the uk. we know that the european commission says there will be some sort of vaccine controls based on expert authorisation, but that won't affect arrangements on the irish border, and it shouldn't affect companies making deliveries under existing

arrangements, either. so it shouldn't have an effect on their prize or seen here in belgium coming into the european market. the takeaway from this is political. the european commission put itself at the centre of this, taking vaccine power is off individual member states and insisting on doing the deal itself. its impulse might be to look for british skulduggery to explain the failures, but they know they will be judge themselves, detach that it might perhaps harshly. as governments across world grapple with how best to roll out vaccines — with varying degrees of success — our health correspondent katharine da costa explains how the uk is faring. the uk's mass vaccination programmes are well under way, with more than 300 million doses on orderfrom seven different companies. three have already been approved, but only the oxford astrazeneca and pfizer/biontech vaccines are in use. supplies of moderna

are expected in the spring. this week, two more vaccines were found to be highly effective at protecting people from falling seriously ill with covert. if they are approved by the uk regulator, novavax could be available from the second half of this year. it's not clear when survives of janssen would be available, but, unlike the other vaccines, that one only needs one shot, and it can be stored in a fridge, which could make a significant impact on the pandemic globally. so, how is a vaccination campaign going around the world? well, israel has taken an early lead, with 53 doses per 100 people. the uk is on 12 per 100. supply issues affecting pfizer and astrazeneca have meant countries like germany, spain and france are still lagging behind. one major concern scientists have is whether new variants could stop current vaccines from working as effectively. the good news is that novavax

was found to be 86% effective against the uk variant, and both novavax and janssen were found to be about 60% effective against a south african version. scientists are still studying the impact on current vaccines. early evidence shows that they are still pretty efficient, but companies say, if changes are needed, they could be tweaked within weeks or months, and, like flu, we made it vaccines each year. katharine da costa reporting there. now let's take a look at the latest government figures there were 23,275 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 25,519. the number of people in hospital is falling — with 34,783 currently in hospital. 1,200 deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test.

on average in the past week, 1,177 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 105,571. there are also figures for the numbers of people vacinnated. 487,756 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 2a hour period. meaning nearly 8.4 million people in the uk have had theirfirstjab. today is the anniversary of the world health organization first declaring the covid—19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. its director—general — tedros adhanom ghebreyesus — has warned countries against �*vaccine nationalism', saying drugs should be prioritised for use for those most in need around the globe.

vaccines are giving us another window of opportunity to bring the pandemic under control and we must not squander it. the pandemic has exposed and exploited the inequalities of our world. there is now a real danger that the very tools that could help to end the pandemic vaccines, those could help to those end the pandemic vaccines, those same inequalities. vaccine nationalism might serve short—term political goals but it is ultimately short sighted and self—defeating. we will not end the pandemic anywhere until we end it everywhere. germany and france have tightened their border controls, over fears that new coronavirus variants might spread in europe. berlin says most visitors from britain, ireland, portugal, brazil and south africa will be banned from saturday. most non—eu nationals will be excluded from france from sunday.

the european union remains opposed to a blanket travel ban. the prime minister has published an open letter to parents, saying he is "in awe" of how they are coping. he also promises "hundreds of millions of pounds" will be spent on a national education catch—up programme after the pandemic. here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. it's tough for millions of parents right now, trying to help children learn at home. schools in england are mainly closed until march. today, borisjohnson said he couldn't thank parents enough. he said they are buying time for vaccination and that is saving lives. only a few children are still learning in school. parents and teachers are worried about lost learning. there is a promise in the letter of hundreds of millions of pounds for catch—up but it's going to be a big job. one of the schools i have responsibility for, fantastic place, serves a very deprived community,

only 30% of those families have access to broadband in that area. only 30%. this is digital poverty in a really extreme way and it means that many children, despite the very best efforts of schools and teachers, still cannot connect with that learning. this warehouse is getting laptops to kids, more than 800,000 so far. but not every child will have somewhere quiet to work or parents able to give them lots of time. leading to fears that children could pay a heavy price in this pandemic. a man has been charged after a suspicious package was a man has been charged after a suspicious package— a man has been charged after a suspicious package was found in wales. police _ suspicious package was found in wales. police say _ suspicious package was found in

wales. police say the _ suspicious package was found in wales. police say the item - suspicious package was found in wales. police say the item is . suspicious package was found in | wales. police say the item is not suspicious package was found in i wales. police say the item is not a viable device. man has been remanded in custody to appear at maidstone crown next month. funeral directors say they may have to ask bereaved families to pay any fines incurred if a service breaches coronavirus restrictions. the national association of funeral directors said it was "utterly ridiculous" its members risked penalties for doing a front line job. police in hertfordshire fined an undertaker £10,000 when 150 mourners went to a ceremony last week. five men have been arrested following a �*disturbance' at a former military barracks in kent being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers. kent police said a significant amount of damage was caused at the site in folkestone when a fire broke out. they are appealing for anyone with information about the incident. the barracks has been used to house around 400 asylum seekers since september. one of the uk's biggest trading platforms, ig, has stopped any new trades in gamestop and amc when markets open on monday these companies have

seen their share prices boom this week as amateur investors bought their shares — fuelled by social media chat on sites like reddit and facebook. some us share trading firms temporarily halted dealings on thursday amid extreme volatility in gamestop, which has soared as much as 700% in the past week. the government calls for a reset in relations with the eu — following a row over the supply of vaccines and the now—abandoned attempt to override part of the brexit agreement. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of the way they're coping with home schooling. confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards — midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused.

midwives are warning that confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards is upsetting families — and in some cases staff are being verbally abused. last month nhs england changed its guidance to say pregnant women should be able to choose someone to be with them at all stages of the maternityjourney. but an investigation by bbc news has found that isn't always possible. 0ur health correspondent anna collinson reports. gemma, this is jacqui and jacqui, this is gemma. can i have a look at your bump? yep. aww! these two women both know what it is like to be pregnant in lockdown. gemma is due in two months. she's hardly left home since november and has gone to most appointments alone. the biggest feeling is probably anxiety at the minute. jacqui gave birth to evie last year and hopes her experiences will help gemma.

you can't control it, but then there is this huge reward at the end which is this huge reward at the end which is just completely worth it. what you doing?! throughout the pandemic, the priority has always been for a woman to have a partner, relative or friend present during labour and birth. but last month, nhs england updated its guidance to say a support person is an integral part of care and should also be able to attend scans, appointments, if the woman feels it is important, and antenatal and postnatal wards. we've spoken to more than 20 trusts and found services vary. take london as an example. 0ne trust in the east of the city give support on the nato and antenatal ward, but only at certain times. if you travel north to a second trust, they are now visiting an overnight stays. now, that is in stark contrast with the trust we spoke to, which is

currently suspending visiting due to safety concerns. midwives say stricter rules may be in place because of local infection rates and limited space on the wards. you might have four or six beds in a bay and so, you can imagine if you then have, on top of the six women in the bay, the six babies, you know, you've then got to think is it safe, is it possible for us to have all six partners there as well at the same time, and to be able to socially distance? we've been told by some trust that families have been confused and in some cases it has led to staff being abused. what is your reaction to that? ., , , , that? that is “ust hugely distressing _ that? that isjust hugely distressing to _ that? that isjust hugely distressing to hear. - that? that isjust hugely distressing to hear. you| that? that isjust hugely - distressing to hear. you know, that? that isjust hugely _ distressing to hear. you know, these are people that work throughout the pandemic night and day, trying to provide the highest quality maternity care in a really frightening situation. jacqui's husband tom had to leave shortly after she gave birth. it's what gemma is most worried about. if you're on your own, you miss out on that time as a family. yeah.

and itjust, yeah, worries me how i'd cope with all of those emotions, as well, and not knowing what i'm doing with the baby. yeah, i completely understand. there's so much support for you, be it in the form of the midwives, the nhs staff, but also the other mums that are going to be there going through it with you. in terms of tom missing out on that time as a family, as soon as i came home, he took the reins, he was like, you go have a shower, go to sleep, i can take out the baby, so then he got some one—on—one time with her as well. so this is evie. i can't wait to have my baby and cuddle _ i can't wait to have my baby and cuddle it — i can't wait to have my baby and cuddle it. that's what is in mind, i have _ cuddle it. that's what is in mind, i have to _ cuddle it. that's what is in mind, i have to remember at some point i will be _ have to remember at some point i will be at — have to remember at some point i will be at home with the baby.

do enjoy, like, the rest of your pregnancy but enjoy the birth as well, because, you know, when they get handed to you, it is literally the best feeling in the world. say bye—bye then. say bye—bye! bye! i spoke to rachael knowles — who gave birth in august and is now supporting dozens of other mums — about some of the issues that are facing mothers to be came in at the end of march. i was fortunate enough to have my 20 week scan just before the lockdown came in at the end of march. but it was everything that came after. so, i was alone for unexpected appointments, because obviously got all your planned appointments, growth scans, you're normally scans, then you got your own planned appointments. so, unfortunately, we had to have a lot of great scans, which are unexpected, and he wasn't a lot of those, so that was quite nerve—racking, really, and then you have to go in alone, and you get examined and they determine whether they can come in or not at that stage. so, it is quite daunting.

was he allowed to come in at all during birth? yeah, i mean, mine was pretty quick, so when i got there, they needed to get him quite quickly, but i went with a lot of pre—and postnatal women, and it's not always the case. so, i do, quite lucky with how i was panned out, really, but it's been distressing for a lot of other people. because you are supporting other mothers or mothers to be at the moment through social media. what are women telling you? there is a lot — it's mixed. there is a lot of frustration amongst people, they are nervous, they are worried. that's the main thing, really. our clients that have a lot of unplanned visits to the hospitals, due to the growth of the baby, the heart monitoring, and this is a grey area. so, topline appointments at the moment, they are saying that their partners can go in and they can go into everything

else, but i think the issues are, when you get into the hospitals at the minute, they are so busy, they determine, on the day, whether they are going to let people in or not. so, it's just frustrating, and it's getting people worried. and if it's an unplanned visit to the hospital, for reasons perhaps of foetal growth, the couple is going to be particularly anxious, so, to have this as an added anxiety must be really difficult. yeah, andi yeah, and i think this is why emotions are high, and it is, you know, worrying to see that people are potentially abusing this, but that's all coming out of emotions. they just want to know that their partner and their baby is ok, to think that these partners have got to sit in the car while their wife, their partner, in there, getting news that they have no idea what's going to happen, so, it is really,

really hard. going to happen, so, it is really, really hard-— really hard. you did a question session with _ really hard. you did a question session with 70 _ really hard. you did a question session with 70 mothers - really hard. you did a question session with 70 mothers in - really hard. you did a question| session with 70 mothers in one really hard. you did a question i session with 70 mothers in one of your prenatal groups, and somebody, your prenatal groups, and somebody, you said, somebody�*s partner was denied access in very distressing circumstances. can you tell us a bit about that, without obviously revealing any identities? yeah, “ust esterda , revealing any identities? yeah, “ust yesterday. we fl revealing any identities? yeah, “ust yesterday, we have i revealing any identities? yeah, “ust yesterday, we have got i revealing any identities? yeah, “ust yesterday, we have got great h revealing any identities? yeah, just| yesterday, we have got great access to our community midwives at the moment, and they are amazing, and it is a community midwives that will then send us to the hospital if they have any areas of concern, this particular mum just popped up earlier and said she got sent in fourfatal heart earlier and said she got sent in four fatal heart monitoring because there were concerns there, and her partner should have been allowed in because they bring granted access to all areas, because they bring granted access to allareas, but because they bring granted access to all areas, but when they got there, it was a little bit chaotic, it was busy, he was told he can go in for any part of the appointment, so she

had to do that alone, and it is really nerve—racking and she was over the 35 week mark now, so it's getting really close to the due date, so it's scary. the indian government has suspended mobile internet services in some areas surrounding the capital delhi, where farmers continue their protests against the new agriculture laws. the interior ministry said the internet shut down in three locations would continue until sunday night to maintain public safety, as they put it. in their latest action, the farmers are staging a one—day hunger strike, which coincides with the anniversary of the death of the independence leader, mahatma gandhi. the new laws relax rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce which have protected india's farmers from the free market for decades. bbc punjabi's arvind chhabra reports from the scene in delhi. tension prevails here on...

of the national capital delhi. clashes took place in which several people, including a few police personnel were injured. there is fear of another clash. police is on alert, and so are the protesting farmers. security has been stepped up. internet services have been blocked for the second time this week. police sources say they are trying to talk to the locals. they are trying to convince them to stay away from the site so that peace is maintained. a group of people claiming to be locals have been demanding that the farmers be evicted from this site, saying that they are affecting their livelihood at this the protests have gone on too long. the farmers have been protesting here for the past two months, demanding that the farm laws be scrapped. the government calls them reforms and says these are only beneficial for the farmers. fresh protests have been taking place in france against a controversial draft security law. the country has seen regular nationwide protests over the bill, which intensified after footage emerged last year of three

white policemen beating a black music producer. the draft legislation would outlaw taking photos or video of police with malevolent intent. critics say it undermines press freedom to document police brutality. a four—year—girl has discovered a rare dinosaur footprint on a beach in south wales. lily wilder and her family made the discovery at bendricks bay in barry in january. the footprint is 220 million years old and had been preserved in mud. palaeontologists say it's one of the best examples from anywhere in the uk and will help them to establish more about how early dinosaurs walked. a little earlier, i caught up with lily and herfamily — who told me when they realised they'd discovered something spectatular. i was also schooled by lily as to which dinosaur the footprint could belong to. well, we were just literally walking along the beach doing the usual thing, looking at shells and what have you,

and lily said, daddy, look at this, and there it was, this amazing footprint. just unbelievably realistic, couldn't believe it was real. we are seeing photographs of it now and you will pointing at the footprint. when you saw it, did you think, has somebody drawn that, or has somebody edged it out? yeah, i thought maybe somebody... it's popular with fishermen down there, i thought maybe someone has been sat on a rock and etched it out. it wasn't really until we got it home and i showed sally, and even she thought, is it real? and the first archaeologist we showed it to, likewise, he was like, is this a...? is this a wind—up, i think you said to me! at what point did you think you'd find something really important?

i think it was when my mum saw it, we posted a picture and she said, you need to report it, it looks amazing. i put it on a fossil identification facebook page, and it caused a bit of a stir, and that's when i was put in touch with the archaeologist, cindy from cardiff museum, so they took over from there. wow, that must�*ve been a great moment. lily, you have got a dinosaur in your hand, haven't you? let's have a look. do you know what sort it is? is that the t rex? yeah! that's my favourite dinosaur. is it really? the footprint you have found, do you think the looks a bit like that? no. no, well i got it all wrong. tiny! it was too small, wasn't it? t rex's footprints are big!

put firmly in my place. another look at the weather. we have seen some rain and sleet on saturday, it would turn i see out there, and the risk of ice in the northern isles where there will be some wintry showers continuing and snow out of these particularly into shetland. for many of us, though, a dry night, though freezing fog patches and parts of scotland, hard frost, minus double figures in the cold spots in scotland as we going to sunday morning which will be a crisp, cold crisp sunny start for most of us. wintry showers for most of us, turning hazy elsewhere, and outbreaks of rain into south—east england and wales, patchy drizzle, not quite as windy in the south, but it will be a cold day out there, more rain and some disruptive snow pushing northwards during tuesday,

lingering across northern parts on wednesday and thursday, the sun briefly milder. hello this is bbc news with reeta chakrabarti. the headlines: the government calls for a reset in relations with the eu following a row over the supply of vaccines and the now—abandoned attempt to override part of the brexit agreement. i think the european union recognise they made a mistake in triggering article 16,

which would have meant the reimposition of a border on the island of ireland. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of the way they're coping with home schooling. confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards. midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused. now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. hello, i'm 0lly foster, here's what's coming up on sportsday. a good result at goodison for newcastle and relief for steve bruce after such a long wait for a win the chiefs are also back in the winning groove, but worcester pushed them close

and the euros gamble, we catch up with the fans who have